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Manchester United overcame Nottingham Forest 1-0 in their FA Cup fifth round tie and once again, it was far from convincing with manager Erik ten Hag forced into numerous changes due to injury.
The Dutchman must be having sleepless night thinking about Sunday’s Manchester Derby and the lack of options at his disposal in key areas.
The back four has been severely weakened due to the long-term injuries suffered by Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw but Rasmus Hojlund’s absence has arguably hit the side harder.
At the back, the manager has called upon Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans in times of distress but no such luck when it comes to selecting an alternate striker.
Striker woes
Anthony Martial is sidelined for three months and has likely played his last game for the club while Marcus Rashford has struggled big-time in the last two games where he has been asked to occupy the No 9 position.
The Mancunian has cut a disinterested figure with his body language being criticised by one and all and even his future seems to be up in the air now that INEOS are looking at ways to move on underperforming stars on huge wages.
But for now, Ten Hag’s options are limited and apart from the England international, he could try and play Amad Diallo or academy talent Omari Forson as the false nine but they are expected to struggle as well.
Gabriele Biancheri pictured in first-team training for the first time! pic.twitter.com/ZIQsxoNVc8
— SCOOP. (@AcademyScoop) February 29, 2024
This is why the former Ajax coach is currently looking at options from the academy with highly-rated striker Gabriele Biancheri called up to first team training for the first time as Academy Scoop put up on X (formerly Twitter).
The 17-year-old has broken through to the U18 team and has five goals and three assists from six starts while he even got called up for United’s U19 UEFA Youth League team, coming off the bench against Bayern Munich.
The former Cardiff City product had caught the attention of teams from all over England when he registered 17 goals and five assists in 11 games for the Cardiff U16 team in his very first season.
Biancheri, one to watch out for
The Wales U17 international was promoted to play for the Cardiff U21 team at the tender age of 16 and United had to fend off interest from the likes of Chelsea, and Arsenal to acquire Biancheri in January last year.
His displays for United’s age group side meant United offered him his first professional deal when he turned 17 and he has taken the next step by impressing Ten Hag already.
The forward has been likened to Gareth Bale and even former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero due to his low centre of gravity.
It is unlikely that Ten Hag will throw Biancheri into the deep end so soon but it is only a matter of time before the famed United academy solves yet another first-team headache as Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have done this campaign.
Soccer2day 